The Return of Carnaby’s to the Wheatbelt
As we head into winter, so begins the great Carnaby migration in time to prepare for breeding.
Once again with the colder weather rolling around, the familiar sound of cockatoos begin to be heard. The distinct black and white flocks of Carnaby’s Cockatoos are making their way back to the Wheatbelt just in time for breeding season!
Carnaby’s Cockatoos are the only Western Australian cockatoo species to be considered as migratory, spending much of their time in non-breeding roosts in and around the Swan Coastal Plain, from early summer to winter, and then beginning migration to the Wheatbelt in search of nesting hollows between June and July.
Carnaby’s begin their migration in large flocks that then break into smaller groups in search of nesting hollows and eventually break into their mating pairs.
These pairs return to the same area within 50km of the female’s natal area to find an appropriate hollow. Nesting hollows often have specific requirements in terms of size, availability of resources in the surrounding area and preferential selection, for example, if the pair have had success raising a chick in a particular hollow, they are more inclined to re-use it, whereas if they have failed, they will not return to it.
Hollows are typically found in old growth Woodlands that contain species such as Marri, Wandoo and/or Salmon Gum trees, and these trees often take ~150 years or more to create a suitable hollow. Competition for these hollows between native species and invasive pest species is incredibly high and often results in the displacement of Carnaby’s Cockatoos from their chosen hollows.
Carnaby’s Cockatoos are a long-lived species living for up to 40-50 years and they normally mate for life, retaining a strong bond with their chosen partner. One breeding pair only produce 2 eggs every year, with only one chick usually being raised. The female will stay with the egg for the gestation period, only leaving for water, while the male forages for both. The males will only travel up to 12km from the nesting hollow to forage for food and use remnant patches of woodland and corridors to help navigate his travels. Carnaby’s have been known to go locally extinct in areas where food sources are scarce.
What we can do for you!
As part of Wheatbelt NRM’s Protecting WA Black-Cockatoos project, we rely on the community to assist us in identifying breeding hollows in remnant woodland patches so we can work in the surrounding areas to ensure there are adequate resources available. Community members can report any cockatoo sightings by using our WA Black-Cockatoo observation survey: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/5c28df2edd30430bba16d188b8f28b5c.
The key part of our project is helping landholders in the protection and bolstering of existing Carnaby’s habitat including remnant woodlands, by providing funding for stock exclusion fencing, assisting in revegetation projects, the installation of artificial nestboxes, and providing weed and pest control opportunities.
For more information or to get involved please visit our project page, https://www.wheatbeltnrm.org.au/projects/protecting-wa-black-cockatoos, or complete an Expression of Interest form found here, and email it to our Senior Project Delivery Officer Kate.
This project is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by Wheatbelt Natural Resource Management, a member of the Regional Delivery Partners panel.
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Published eNews #403, June 2025